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5 min
03/02/2026
Using grated fillings provides both speed and freshness, whereas a cooked filling allows for more control and deeper flavour. Both types of fillings work well for winter parathas; however, the type of vegetable used, the moisture content, and the flour you use will determine the method you choose to prepare them. The difference between a juicy paratha and a soggy one can simply be due to the method of preparation.
During the winter season, parathas taste wonderful. The parathas are thicker because of the weight of the dough used to make them, and they are very comforting when you eat them off the tawa and add a little ghee with them. But there is one common question or debate among home cooks who prepare stuffed parathas, and that is how are you stuffing parathas? Will the fillings be raw or cooked? There are lots of fans of each, but when you cook one of these in your dough, they both act differently. It is not only about what you prefer, but also about the amount of water in the filling, how soft the filling is, how long it takes to cook, and how well your atta (dough) holds everything together. Let us go through how these 2 styles will work out in the winter kitchen.
For example, grated fillings are quick-cooking because they are seasoned as they're prepared and ready to go into your paratha right away. The vegetables will cook inside the paratha, by steaming the dough from the inside out, which is ideal when using a flour like Aashirvaad Shudh Chakki Atta, which retains moisture. This combination creates a soft, fluffy paratha with minimal effort.
But, grated fillings do require some supervision. It is essential to squeeze out excess moisture before you fill your parathas, especially during the winter when the density of vegetables is at its highest. If you do not do this, your paratha will be ruined by either tearing or uneven cooking.
Moisture content is one of the key variables for grated fillings. Not all moisture will escape evenly from the paratha, resulting in some pockets being overly wet and others undercooked. In addition, certain types of vegetables, such as strong-flavoured vegetables, can taste raw if they do not receive sufficient time to cook. This is why many first-time cooks struggle with grated fillings: they cannot rush the cooking before the filling cooks thoroughly. You can use Aashirvaad Select 100% MP Sharbati Atta, which has higher water absorption and naturally softer dough, making the dough stretchier. This makes handling the wetter filling easier without tearing.
In colder weather, cooked fillings often seem safer and richer than uncooked fillings. Before stuffing the parathas, cook the potatoes, cauliflower, peas, and paneer, then grind them and season them before adding them to the filling. By completing this step first, you can ensure the moisture content, flavour, and texture are consistent every time you make a paratha. As well, cooked fillings work well with heavier flours. Aashirvaad High Fibre Atta with Multigrains combines multiple flours (wheat, soy, chana, oats, maize, and psyllium husk), which add stability and texture to parathas, helping people feel full without feeling heavy.
Parathas taste hard or flat if the filling is overcooked/overmushed. The amount of oil/spices used can either balance the dough or overpower it. During wintertime, it is tempting to put all the richness of food in your paratha; however, doing so would require more moderation because the filling must be cohesive rather than pasted. This is particularly true when trying to achieve good-quality dough, maximising Aashirvaad 100% MP Sharbati Atta because it has nice tender texture attributes, natural aroma, and other attributes that will help you achieve a nice tender final product by balancing density with good results.
When utilising grated fillings, flour has low moisture absorption and maintains elasticity; therefore, the cooked filling uses flours with good softening qualities and reasonably high structure. Because of this characteristic, winter parathas will especially benefit from working with attas, which equally absorb equal amounts of water through their structure and properties; thus, they will remain tender longer than the previously discussed atta types. When you are dealing with fillings that have a lot of water content, you need to align your dough with forgiving properties; when the filling has a lot of weight, you need tender, stretchable dough.
Doing snippets of research may result in you not having a definite answer as to which type of filling is the best; an example would be the comparison of grated vegetables to cooked fillings for a quick weekday breakfast, compared to a lazy Sunday brunch. Once you learn how both types of filling behave and how the flour you use matches them, you are no longer guessing what you will get; you can instead achieve consistent, repeatable results. The purpose of the winter paratha is not to be perfect, but to provide warmth, ease preparation, and deliver food that does its job well.